Matt Atwood’s 33-yard touchdown run in the first quarter produced all of the points Smith Center needed in posting a 10-0 win over Meade in Friday’s Class 2-1A Quarterfinals.
It also secured a win that put Redmen coach Roger Barta in some pretty elite company. The shutout of the Buffaloes, which advanced the Redmen to Friday’s semifinals against Oakley at Smith Center’s Hubbard Stadium, was the 300th triumph of Barta’s illustrious career.
"It’s been unbelievable," Atwood said of playing on the team that is playing for Barta’s sixth straight state title. "There is so much pressure. You look back on what all of the classes before us have done. We don’t want to let any of them down."
Barta, who now owns a 300-58 career record and an .838 career winning percentage, joins Clyde’s Ed Buller, Silver Lake’s C.J. Hamilton, McPherson’s Tom Young and Sedan’s Les Davis as the only Kansas high school football coaches to reach the landmark win.
"I’ll remember him forever," Atwood said of his coach. "He helps with everything. He’s a smart guy. He understands the game. He’s been doing this for 40 years. He has the ability to compare football to everyday life and knows how to get his point across."
With the win the Redmen extend the nation’s longest 11-Man winning streak to 78 games and keep their hopes of a sixth straight Class 2-1A state championship alive. But first Smith Center (11-0) must focus on Oakley (11-0), another squad with a stout defense.
Collectively the semifinalists have allowed 117 points and 10 shutouts through the quarterfinals, so mistakes must be at a minimum this weekend.
"Meade has a good football team," Atwood said of his team’s latest conquest. "Big and fast. We made a few mental mistakes with too many penalties and turnovers. We’ll go back to work this week and hopefully get it worked out by this weekend."
Record-breakers
Olathe North running back James Franklin carried his football team into a Class 6A semifinal match against Blue Valley Friday with a 41-28 win over defending runnerup Lawrence Free State last weekend. In the process, the 5-foot-8, 176-pound senior smashed former Eagle running back Darren Sproles' career rushing record after carrying the ball 33 times for 247 yards and a pair of touchdowns against the Firebirds.
Before moving on to Kansas State at the completion of his prep football career, Sproles rushed for an Eagle-best 5,230 yards. Franklin now has 5,434 yards rushing heading into the contest against the Tigers (5-6), who have won four straight games.
"It feels amazing, but that’s not on my priority list," Franklin told the Olathe News. "My priority list is getting this team to be No. 1. That record means nothing if we don’t win a state championship honestly, but it feels good to get that record in this game."
Rossville didn’t fare as well in the quarterfinals, losing to undefeated Galena 26-15. But Bulldog receiver Matt Buhler surpassed Maize receiver Brett Soft’s Kansas single-season reception record with 87 this season. The senior caught 12 passes against the Bulldogs for 150 yards and a touchdown to improve his season yardage total to 1,468. Soft's old record set in 2007 was 81 catches.
Bishop Miege keeps rolling
After posting a 3-1 record against quality Class 6A competition during the regular season, Tim Grunhard’s Bishop Miege Stags have been rolling through Class 4A competition in the postseason.
The Stags have posted a 7-0 mark against teams in their own classification in 2009, and outscored the seven opponents 325-58. Louisburg was the latest squad to try to upend the top-ranked Stags, but fell at home 35-7 last weekend.
Bishop Miege will try to continue its 4A mastery Friday when the Stags travel to Paola in the 4A semifinals. Bishop Miege’s two losses were to Class 5A No. 5 St. Thomas Aquinas (18-10) and to third-ranked 6A quarterfinalist Blue Valley Northwest (35-27). The Stags knocked off 6A clubs Blue Valley West (37-15), Blue Valley (42-28) and Blue Valley North 36-13.
Another 4A squad to be on the look out for is defending champion Topeka Hayden, which knocked off undefeated Andale 23-10. The Wildcats have reeled off four straight wins after beginning the season 4-4. 
Bishop Miege's Bobby Germinder (1) tries to get extra yards as three Louisburg defenders close in.
Photo by Dean Backes
Top quarterfinal football performances
Rushing
Bubba Starling of Gardner-Edgerton rushed for a school-record 285 yards on 16 carries, and scored 4 touchdowns in a 56-21 win over Topeka Seaman…Olathe North’s James Franklin broke Darren Sproles' school career rushing record after he carried the ball 33 times for 247 yards and a pair of touchdowns in a 41-28 win over Lawrence Free State…Victor Simmons of Olathe North rushed for 170 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 27 carries in a 41-28 win over Lawrence Free State…Galena’s Cody Clark rushed for 157 yards and 3 touchdowns on 11 carries in a 26-15 win over Rossville…Troy Albright of Galena rushed for 154 yards on 26 carries in a 26-15 win over Rossville…Paola’s Skylar Hawkins rushed for 142 yards and a pair of touchdowns in a 33-14 win over Eudora…Jake Reffner of Buhler rushed for 136 yards on 13 carries in a 64-28 win over Rose Hill…Bishop Miege’s Bobby Germinder rushed for 123 yards and 3 touchdowns on 26 carries in a 35-7 win over Louisburg…Justin McCay of Bishop Miege rushed for 119 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 4 carries in a 35-7 win over Louisburg…Hanover’s Trevor Jueneman rushed for 118 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 10 carries in a 58-12 win over Beloit-St. John’s-Tipton.
Passing
Richard Davila of St. Thomas Aquinas completed 18-of-25 passes for 320 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 42-21 win over Shawnee Heights…Derby’s Tyler Harrison completed 15-of-30 passes for 287 yards in a 19-7 win over Dodge City…Mitch Buhler of Rossville completed 26-of-41 passes for 256 yards and a touchdown in a 26-15 loss to Galena…Shawnee Heights’ David Gauntt completed 18-of-26 passes for 252 yards and a pair of touchdowns in a 42-21 loss to St. Thomas Aquinas…Keenan Kruger of Silver Lake completed 16-of-29 passes for 222 yards and a pair of touchdowns in a 21-14 loss to Marysville…Wichita Bishop Carroll’s Blake Bell completed 15-of-22 passes for 215 yards and a pair of touchdowns in a 42-6 win over Emporia…Camren Torneden of Lawrence Free State completed 14-of-30 passes for 182 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 41-28 loss to Olathe North…Rose Hill’s Tyler Shirley completed 20-of-30 passes for 181 yards and a touchdown in a 64-28 loss to Buhler…Ben Malotte of Marysville completed 8-of-17 passes for 152 yards and a touchdown in a 21-14 win over Silver Lake…Dodge City’s Ty Thomas completed 14-of-26 passes for 140 yards and a touchdown in a 19-7 loss to Derby.
Receiving
Devin Hedgepeth of Derby caught 6 passes for 190 yards in a 19-7 win over Dodge City…Shawnee Heights’ Connor Crimmins caught 8 passes for 160 yards and a pair of touchdowns in a 42-21 loss to St. Thomas Aquinas…Brit Dewey of Silver Lake caught 8 passes for 158 yards and a touchdown in a 21-14 loss to Marysville…Rossville’s Matt Buhler caught 12 passes for 150 yards and a touchdown in a 26-15 loss to Galena…Shane Nachbar of St. Thomas Aquinas caught 5 passes for 113 yards and 2 touchdowns in a 42-21 win over Shawnee Heights…St. Thomas Aquinas’ Drake Kuhlman caught 5 passes for 107 yards in a 42-21 win over Shawnee Heights…Justice Berry of Gardner-Edgerton caught 3 passes for 101 yards in a 56-21 win over Topeka Seaman…Dodge City’s Landon Head caught 6 passes for 80 yards and a touchdown in a 19-7 loss to Derby.
Quarterfinal results
Class 6A
Olathe North 41, Lawrence Free State 28
Blue Valley 17, Blue Valley Northwest 14
Wichita Heights 14, Manhattan 10
Derby 19, Dodge City 7
Friday’s Semifinals
No. 1 Olathe North (11-0) at Blue Valley (5-6)
No. 10 Derby (8-3) at Wichita Heights (7-4)
Class 5A
Gardner-Edgerton 56, Topeka Seaman 21
St. Thomas Aquinas 42, Shawnee Heights 21
Hutchinson 42, Salina South 10
Wichita Bishop Carroll 42, Emporia 6
Friday’s Semifinals
No. 2 Gardner-Edgerton (11-0) at No. 5 St. Thomas Aquinas (10-1)
No. 3 Wichita Bishop Carroll (11-0) at No. 1 Hutchinson (11-0)
Class 4A
Bishop Miege 35, Louisburg 7
Paola 31, Eudora 14
Topeka Hayden 23, Andale 10
Buhler 64, Rose Hill 28
Friday’s Semifinals
No. 1 Bishop Miege (10-2) at Paola (9-3)
No. 4 Buhler (11-1) at Topeka Hayden (8-4)
Class 3A
Galena 26, Rossville 15
Marysville 21, Silver Lake 14
Wichita Collegiate 19, Scott City 17
Norton 17, Hutchinson Trinity 7
Friday’s Semifinals
No. 8 Galena (12-0) at No. 6 Marysville (11-1)
No. 3 Wichita Collegiate (12-0) at Norton (9-3)
Class 2-1A
Centralia 26, Pittsburg-Colgan 14
St. Marys 24, Olpe 21
Smith Center 10, Meade 0
Oakley 3, Ellis 0
Friday’s Semifinals
No. 8 Centralia (11-1) at No. 6 St. Marys (11-1)
No. 3 Oakley (11-0) at No. 1 Smith Center (11-0)
Class 8-Man I
Baileyville B&B 50, Pretty Prairie 6
Quinter 28, Clifton-Clyde 20
Saturday’s Championship at Fischer Field in Newton
No. 1 Baileyville B&B (12-0) vs. No. 3 Quinter (11-1)
Class 8-Man II
Hanover 58, Beloit-St. John’s-Tipton 12
Quivira Heights 42, Victoria 20
Saturday’s Championship at Fischer Field in Newton
No. 1 Hanover (11-1) vs. No. 6 Quivira Heights (10-2)
